Purgatory

Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.

Catholic doctrine

The faith of the Church
concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union
drawn up by the Council of Florence (Mansi, t. XXXI, col. 1031),
and in the decree of the Council of Trent which (Sess. XXV)
defined:

"Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost,
has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the
Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical synod
(Sess. VI, cap. XXX; Sess. XXII cap.ii, iii) that there is a
purgatory, and that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of
the faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the
Altar; the Holy Synod enjoins on the Bishops that they diligently
endeavor to have the sound doctrine of the Fathers in Councils
regarding purgatory everywhere taught and preached, held and believed
by the faithful" (Denzinger, "Enchiridon", 983).

Further than this the
definitions of the Church do not go, but the tradition of the Fathers
and the Schoolmen must be consulted to explain the teachings of the
councils, and to make clear the belief and the practices of the
faithful.

Temporal punishment

That temporal punishment
is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been pardoned by God, is
clearly the teaching of Scripture. God indeed brought man out of his
first disobedience and gave him power to govern all things (Wisdom
10:2), but still condemned him "to eat his bread in
the sweat of his brow" until he returned unto dust. God
forgave the incredulity of Moses and Aaron, but in punishment kept
them from the "land of promise" (Numbers
20:12). The Lord took away the sin of David, but the life of
the child was forfeited because David had made God's enemies
blaspheme His Holy Name (2 Samuel 12:13-14). In the New
Testament as well as in the Old, almsgiving and fasting, and in
general penitential acts are the real fruits of repentance (Matthew
3:8; Luke 17:3; 3:3). The whole penitential system of the
Church testifies that the voluntary assumption of penitential works
has always been part of true repentance and the Council of Trent
(Sess. XIV, can. xi) reminds the faithful that God does not
always remit the whole punishment due to sin together with the guilt.
God requires satisfaction, and will punish sin, and this doctrine
involves as its necessary consequence a belief that the sinner
failing to do penance in this life may be punished in another world,
and so not be cast off eternally from God.

Venial sins

All sins are not equal
before God, nor dare anyone assert that the daily faults of human
frailty will be punished with the same severity that is meted out to
serious violation of God's law. On the other hand whosoever comes
into God's presence must be perfectly pure for in the strictest sense
His "eyes are too pure, to behold evil" (Habakkuk
1:13). For unrepented venial faults for the payment of
temporal punishment due to sin at time of death, the Church has
always taught the doctrine of purgatory. So deep was this belief
ingrained in our common humanity that it was accepted by the Jews,
and in at least a shadowy way by the pagans, long before the coming
of Christianity. ("Aeneid," VI, 735 sq.; Sophocles,
"Antigone," 450 sq.).

Proofs

The Catholic doctrine of
purgatory supposes the fact that some die with smaller faults for
which there was no true repentance, and also the fact that the
temporal penalty due to sin is it times not wholly paid in this life.
The proofs for the Catholic position, both in Scripture and in
Tradition, are bound up also with the practice of praying for the
dead. For why pray for the dead, if there be no belief in the power
of prayer to afford solace to those who as yet are excluded from the
sight of God? So true is this position that prayers for the dead and
the existence of a place of purgation are mentioned in conjunction in
the oldest passages of the Fathers, who allege reasons for succouring
departed souls. Those who have opposed the doctrine of purgatory have
confessed that prayers for the dead would be an unanswerable argument
if the modern doctrine of a "particular judgment"
had been received in the early ages. But one has only to read the
testimonies hereinafter alleged to feel sure that the Fathers speak,
in the same breath, of oblations for the dead and a place of
purgation; and one has only to consult the evidence found in the
catacombs to feel equally sure that the Christian faith there
expressed embraced clearly a belief in judgment immediately after
death. Wilpert ("Roma Sotteranea," I, 441) thus
concludes chapter 21, "Che tale esaudimento", etc.:

Intercession has been made for the soul of the dear one departed
and God has heard the prayer, and the soul has passed into a place of
light and refreshment." "Surely," Wilpert adds, "such
intercession would have no place were there question not of the
particular, but of the final judgment."

Some stress too has been
laid upon the objection that the ancient Christians had no clear
conception of purgatory, and that they thought that the souls
departed remained in uncertainty of salvation to the last day; and
consequently they prayed that those who had gone before might in the
final judgment escape even the everlasting torments of hell. The
earliest Christian traditions are clear as to the particular
judgment, and clearer still concerning a sharp distinction between
purgatory and hell. The passages alledged as referring to relief from
hell cannot offset the evidence given below (Bellarmine, "De
Purgatorio," lib. II, cap. v). Concerning the famous case of
Trajan, which vexed the Doctors of the Middle Ages, see Bellarmine,
loc. cit., cap. Viii.

Scripture

I. A state after death of suffering and forgivenessMatt. 5:26, 18:34;
Luke 12:58-59 – Jesus teaches us, “Come to
terms with your opponent or you will be handed over to the judge and
thrown into prison. You will not get out until you have paid the last
penny.” The word “opponent” (antidiko)
is likely a reference to the devil (see the same word for devil in 1
Pet. 5:8) who is an accuser against man (c.f. Job
1.6-12; Zech. 3.1; Rev. 12.10), and God is the judge. If we
have not adequately dealt with satan and sin in this life, we will be
held in a temporary state called a prison, and we won’t get out
until we have satisfied our entire debt to God. This “prison”
is purgatory where we will not get out until the last penny is paid.

Matt. 5:48 -
Jesus says, "be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is
perfect." We are only made perfect through purification, and
in Catholic teaching, this purification, if not completed on earth,
is continued in a transitional state we call purgatory.

Matt. 12:32
– Jesus says, “And anyone who says a word against the
Son of man will be forgiven; but no one who speaks against the Holy
Spirit will be forgiven either in this world or in the next.”
Jesus thus clearly provides that there is forgiveness after death.
The phrase “in the next” (from the Greek “en
to mellonti”) generally refers to the afterlife (see, for
example, Mark 10.30; Luke 18.30; 20.34-35; Eph. 1.21
for similar language). Forgiveness is not necessary in heaven, and
there is no forgiveness in hell. This proves that there is another
state after death, and the Church for 2,000 years has called this
state purgatory.

Luke 12:47-48
- when the Master comes (at the end of time), some will receive light
or heavy beatings but will live. This state is not heaven or hell,
because in heaven there are no beatings, and in hell we will no
longer live with the Master.

1 Cor. 15:29-30
- Paul mentions people being baptized on behalf of the dead, in the
context of atoning for their sins (people are baptized on the dead’s
behalf so the dead can be raised). These people cannot be in heaven
because they are still with sin, but they also cannot be in hell
because their sins can no longer be atoned for. They are in
purgatory. These verses directly correspond to 2 Macc. 12:44-45
which also shows specific prayers for the dead, so that they may be
forgiven of their sin.

2 Tim. 1:16-18
- Onesiphorus is dead but Paul asks for mercy on him “on
that day.” Paul’s use of “that day”
demonstrates its eschatological usage (see, for example, Rom.
2.5,16; 1 Cor. 1.8; 3.13; 5.5; 2 Cor. 1.14; Phil. 1.6,10; 2.16; 1
Thess. 5.2,45,8; 2 Thess. 2.2,3; 2 Tim. 4.8). Of course,
there is no need for mercy in heaven, and there is no mercy given in
hell. Where is Onesiphorus? He is in purgatory.

Heb. 12:14 -
without holiness no one will see the Lord. We need final
sanctification to attain true holiness before God, and this process
occurs during our lives and, if not completed during our lives, in
the transitional state of purgatory.

Heb. 12:23 -
the spirits of just men who died in godliness are "made"
perfect. They do not necessarily arrive perfect. They are made
perfect after their death. But those in heaven are already perfect,
and those in hell can no longer be made perfect. These spirits are in
purgatory.

Rev. 21:4 -
God shall wipe away their tears, and there will be no mourning or
pain, but only after the coming of the new heaven and the passing
away of the current heaven and earth. Note the elimination of tears
and pain only occurs at the end of time. But there is no morning or
pain in heaven, and God will not wipe away their tears in hell. These
are the souls experiencing purgatory.

Rev. 21:27 -
nothing unclean shall enter heaven. The word “unclean”
comes from the Greek word “koinon” which refers to
a spiritual corruption. Even the propensity to sin is spiritually
corrupt, or considered unclean, and must be purified before entering
heaven. It is amazing how many Protestants do not want to believe in
purgatory. Purgatory exists because of the mercy of God. If there
were no purgatory, this would also likely mean no salvation for most
people. God is merciful indeed.

Luke 23:43 –
many Protestants argue that, because Jesus sent the good thief right
to heaven, there can be no purgatory. There are several rebuttals.
First, when Jesus uses the word "paradise,” He did
not mean heaven. Paradise, from the Hebrew "sheol,"
meant the realm of the righteous dead. This was the place of the dead
who were destined for heaven, but who were captive until the Lord's
resurrection. Second, since there was no punctuation in the original
manuscript, Jesus’ statement “I say to you today you
will be with me in paradise” does not mean there was a
comma after the first word “you.” This means Jesus
could have said, “I say to you today, you will be with me in
paradise” (meaning, Jesus could have emphasized with
exclamation his statement was “today” or “now,”
and that some time in the future the good thief would go to heaven).
Third, even if the thief went straight to heaven, this does not prove
there is no purgatory (those who are fully sanctified in this life –
perhaps by a bloody and repentant death – could be ready for
admission in to heaven).

Gen. 50:10; Num.
20:29; Deut. 34:8 - here are some examples of ritual prayer
and penitent mourning for the dead for specific periods of time. The
Jewish understanding of these practices was that the prayers freed
the souls from their painful state of purification, and expedited
their journey to God.

Baruch 3:4 -
Baruch asks the Lord to hear the prayers of the dead of Israel.
Prayers for the dead are unnecessary in heaven and unnecessary in
hell. These dead are in purgatory.

Zech. 9:11 -
God, through the blood of His covenant, will set those free from the
waterless pit, a spiritual abode of suffering which the Church calls
purgatory.

2 Macc. 12:43-45
- the prayers for the dead help free them from sin and help them to
the reward of heaven. Those in heaven have no sin, and those in hell
can no longer be freed from sin. They are in purgatory. Luther was
particularly troubled with these verses because he rejected the
age-old teaching of purgatory. As a result, he removed Maccabees from
the canon of the Bible.

II. Purification after death by fireHeb. 12:29 -
God is a consuming fire (of love in heaven, of purgation in
purgatory, or of suffering and damnation in hell).

1 Cor. 3:10-15
- works are judged after death and tested by fire. Some works are
lost, but the person is still saved. Paul is referring to the state
of purgation called purgatory. The venial sins (bad works) that were
committed are burned up after death, but the person is still brought
to salvation. This state after death cannot be heaven (no one with
venial sins is present) or hell (there is no forgiveness and
salvation).

1 Cor. 3:15
– “if any man’s work is burned up, he will
suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through
fire.” The phrase for "suffer loss" in the
Greek is "zemiothesetai." The root word is "zemioo"
which also refers to punishment. The construction “zemiothesetai”
is used in Ex. 21:22 and Prov. 19:19
which refers to punishment (from the Hebrew “anash”
meaning “punish” or “penalty”).
Hence, this verse proves that there is an expiation of temporal
punishment after our death, but the person is still saved. This
cannot mean heaven (there is no punishment in heaven) and this cannot
mean hell (the possibility of expiation no longer exists and the
person is not saved).

1 Cor. 3:15
– further, Paul writes “he
himself will be saved, 'but only' (or 'yet so') as through fire.”
“He will be saved” in the Greek is “sothesetai”
(which means eternal salvation). The phrase "but only"
(or “yet so”) in the Greek is "houtos"
which means "in the same manner." This means that
man is both eternally rewarded and eternally saved in the same manner
by fire.

1 Cor. 3:13
- when Paul writes about God revealing the quality of each man's work
by fire and purifying him, this purification relates to his sins (not
just his good works). Protestants, in attempting to disprove the
reality of purgatory, argue that Paul was only writing about
rewarding good works, and not punishing sins (because punishing and
purifying a man from sins would be admitting that there is a
purgatory).

1 Cor. 3:17
- but this verse proves that the purgation after death deals with
punishing sin. That is, destroying God's temple is a bad work, which
is a mortal sin, which leads to death. 1 Cor. 3:14,15,17
- purgatory thus reveals the state of righteousness (v.14),
state of venial sin (v.15) and the state of mortal sin
(v.17), all of which are judged after death.

Jude 1:23 -
the people who are saved are being snatched out of the fire. People
are already saved if they are in heaven, and there is no possibility
of salvation if they are in hell. These people are being led to
heaven from purgatory.

Rev. 3:18-19
- Jesus refers to this fire as what refines into gold those He loves
if they repent of their sins. This is in the context of after death
because Jesus, speaking from heaven, awards the white garment of
salvation after the purgation of fire (both after death).

Dan 12:10 -
Daniel refers to this refining by saying many shall purify
themselves, make themselves white and be refined.

Wis. 3:5-6 -
the dead are disciplined and tested by fire to receive their heavenly
reward. This is the fire of purgatory.

Mal. 3:2-3 -
refers to God's purification of the righteous at their death.

Tradition / Church Fathers

I. The early Church’s belief in purgatory

"And after the exhibition, Tryphaena again receives her. For
her daughter Falconilla had died, and said to her in a dream: Mother,
thou shalt have this stranger Thecla in my place, in order that she
may pray concerning me, and that I may be transferred to the place of
the just." Acts of Paul and Thecla (A.D. 160).

"Abercius by name, I am a disciple of the chaste
shepherd...He taught me…faithful writings...These words, I,
Abercius, standing by, ordered to be inscribed. In truth, I was in
the course of my seventy-second year. Let him who understands and
believes this pray for Abercius." Inscription of Abercius (A.D.
190).

"Without delay, on that very night, this was shown to me in a
vision. I saw Dinocrates going out from a gloomy place, where also
there were several others, and he was parched and very thirsty, with
a filthy countenance and pallid colour, and the wound on his face
which he had when he died. This Dinocrates had been my brother after
the flesh, seven years of age? Who died miserably with disease...But
I trusted that my prayer would bring help to his suffering; and I
prayed for him every day until we passed over into the prison of the
camp, for we were to fight in the camp-show. Then was the birth-day
of Gets Caesar, and I made my prayer for my brother day and night,
groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me. Then, on the day
on which we remained in fetters, this was shown to me. I saw that
that place which I had formerly observed to be in gloom was now
bright; and Dinocrates, with a clean body well clad, was finding
refreshment. And where there had been a wound, I saw a scar; and that
pool which I had before seen, I saw now with its margin lowered even
to the boy's navel. And one drew water from the pool incessantly, and
upon its brink was a goblet filled with water; and Dinocrates drew
near and began to drink from it, and the goblet did not fail. And
when he was satisfied, he went away from the water to play joyously,
after the manner of children, and I awoke. Then I understood that he
was translated from the place of punishment." The Passion of
Perpetua and Felicitias, 2:3-4 (A.D. 202).

"Accordingly the believer, through great discipline,
divesting himself of the passions, passes to the mansion which is
better than the former one, viz., to the greatest torment, taking
with him the characteristic of repentance from the sins he has
committed after baptism. He is tortured then still more--not yet or
not quite attaining what he sees others to have acquired. Besides, he
is also ashamed of his transgressions. The greatest torments, indeed,
are assigned to the believer. For God's righteousness is good, and
His goodness is righteous. And though the punishments cease in the
course of the completion of the expiation and purification of each
one, yet those have very great and permanent grief who are found
worthy of the other fold, on account of not being along with those
that have been glorified through righteousness." Clement of
Alexandria, Stromata, 6:14 (post A.D. 202).

"[T]hat allegory of the Lord which is extremely clear and
simple in its meaning, and ought to be from the first understood in
its plain and natural sense...Then, again, should you be disposed to
apply the term 'adversary' to the devil, you are advised by the
(Lord's) injunction, while you are in the way with him, 'to make even
with him such a compact as may be deemed compatible with the
requirements of your true faith. Now the compact you have made
respecting him is to renounce him, and his pomp, and his angels. Such
is your agreement in this matter. Now the friendly understanding you
will have to carry out must arise from your observance of the
compact: you must never think of getting back any of the things which
you have abjured, and have restored to him, lest he should summon you
as a fraudulent man, and a transgressor of your agreement, before God
the Judge (for in this light do we read of him, in another passage,
as 'the accuser of the brethren,' or saints, where reference is made
to the actual practice of legal prosecution); and lest this Judge
deliver you over to the angel who is to execute the sentence, and he
commit you to the prison of hell, out of which there will be no
dismissal until the smallest even of your delinquencies be paid off
in the period before the resurrection. What can be a more fitting
sense than this? What a truer interpretation?" Tertullian, A
Treatise on the Soul, 35 (A.D. 210).

"All souls, therefore; are shut up within Hades: do you admit
this? It is true, whether you say yes or no: moreover, there are
already experienced there punishments and consolations; and there you
have a poor man and a rich...Moreover, the soul executes not all its
operations with the ministration of the flesh; for the judgment of
God pursues even simple cogitations and the merest volitions.
'Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart.' Therefore, even for this
cause it is most fitting that the soul, without at all waiting for
the flesh, should be punished for what it has done without the
partnership of the flesh. So, on the same principle, in return for
the pious and kindly thoughts in which it shared not the help of the
flesh, shall it without the flesh receive its consolation. In short,
inasmuch as we understand 'the prison' pointed out in the Gospel to
be Hades, and as we also interpret 'the uttermost farthing' to mean
the very smallest offence which has to be recompensed there before
the resurrection, no one will hesitate to believe that the soul
undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without prejudice to
the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be
administered through the flesh besides." Tertullian, A Treatise
on the Soul, 58 (A.D. 210).

"As often as the anniversary comes round, we make offerings
for the dead as birthday honours." Tertullian, The Chaplut, 3
(A.D. 211).

"[A] woman is more bound when her husband is dead...Indeed,
she prays for his soul, and requests refreshment for him meanwhile,
and fellowship (with him) in the first resurrection; and she offers
(her sacrifice) on the anniversary of his falling asleep."
Tertullian, On Monogamy, 10 (A.D. 216).

"For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only
gold and silver and precious stones (1 Cor.,3); but also wood and hay
and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from
the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and
stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these
hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your
gold and silver and precious stones; neither is this just. It remains
then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light
materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is
called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but
what the creature has himself built, wood, and hay and stubble. It is
manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and
then returns to us the reward of our great works." Origen,
Homilies on Jeremias, PG 13:445, 448 ( A.D. 244).

"For to adulterers even a time of repentance is granted by
us, and peace is given. Yet virginity is not therefore deficient in
the Church, nor does the glorious design of continence languish
through the sins of others. The Church, crowned with so many virgins,
flourishes; and chastity and modesty preserve the tenor of their
glory. Nor is the vigour of continence broken down because repentance
and pardon are facilitated to the adulterer. It is one thing to stand
for pardon, another thing to attain to glory: it is one thing, when
cast into prison, not to go out thence until one has paid the
uttermost farthing; another thing at once to receive the wages of
faith and courage. It is one thing, tortured by long suffering for
sins, to be cleansed and long purged by fire; another to have purged
all sins by suffering. It is one thing, in fine, to be in suspense
till the sentence of God at the day of judgment; another to be at
once crowned by the Lord." Cyprian, To Antonianus, Epistle 51
(55):20 (A.D. 253).

"Let us pray for our brethren that are at rest in Christ,
that God, the lover of mankind, who has received his soul, may
forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary, and may be merciful
and gracious to him, and give him his lot in the land of the pious
that are sent into the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with
all those that have pleased Him and done His will from the beginning
of the world, whence all sorrow, grief, and lamentation are
banished." Apostolic Constitutions, 8:4,41 (3rd Century).

"The same divine fire, therefore, with one and the same force
and power, will both burn the wicked and will form them again, and
will replace as much as it shall consume of their bodies, and will
supply itself with eternal nourishment: which the poets transferred
to the vulture of Tityus. Thus, without any wasting of bodies, which
regain their substance, it will only burn and affect them with a
sense of pain. But when He shall have judged the righteous, He will
also try them with fire. Then they whose sins shall exceed either in
weight or in number, shall be scorched by the fire and burnt: but
they whom full justice and maturity of virtue has imbued will not
perceive that fire; for they have something of God in themselves
which repels and rejects the violence of the flame." Lactantius,
The Divine Institutes, 7:21 (A.D. 307).

"Then we commemorate also those who have fallen asleep before
us, first Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, that at their
prayers and intercessions God would receive our petition. Then on
behalf also of the Holy Fathers and Bishops who have fallen asleep
before us, and in a word of all who in past years have fallen asleep
among us, believing that it will be a very great benefit to the
souls, for whom the supplication is put up, while that holy and most
awful sacrifice is set forth. And I wish to persuade you by an
illustration. For I know that many say, what is a soul profited,
which departs from this world either with sins, or without sins, if
it be commemorated in the prayer? For if a king were to banish
certain who had given him of-fence, and then those who belong to them
should weave a crown and offer it to him on behalf of those under
punishment, would he not grant a remission of their penalties? In the
same way we, when we offer to Him our supplications for those who
have fallen asleep, though they be sinners, weave no crown, but offer
up Christ sacrificed for our sins, propitiating our merciful God for
them as well as for ourselves.” Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures, 23:9,10 (c. A.D. 350).

"I think that the noble athletes of God, who have wrestled
all their lives with the invisible enemies, after they have escaped
all of their persecutions and have come to the end of life, are
examined by the prince of this world; and if they are found to have
any wounds from their wrestling, any stains or effects of sin, they
are detained. If, however they are found unwounded and without stain,
they are, as unconquered, brought by Christ into their rest."
Basil, Homilies on the Psalms, 7:2 (ante A.D. 370).

"Lay me not with sweet spices: for this honour avails me not;
Nor yet incense and perfumes: for the honour benefits me not. Burn
sweet spices in the Holy Place: and me, even me, conduct to the grave
with prayer. Give ye incense to God: and over me send up hymns.
Instead of perfumes of spices: in prayer make remembrance of me."
Ephraem, His Testament (ante A.D. 373).

"Useful too is the prayer fashioned on their [the dead’s]
behalf...it is useful, because in this world we often stumble either
voluntarily or involuntarily." Epiphanius, Panarion, 75:8 (A.D.
375).

"When he has quitted his body and the difference between
virtue and vice is known he cannot approach God till the purging fire
shall have cleansed the stains with which his soul was infested. That
same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter, and the
propensity to evil." Gregory of Nyssa, Sermon on the Dead, PG
13:445,448 (ante A.D. 394).

"Give, Oh Lord, rest to Thy servant Theodosius, that rest
Thou hast prepared for Thy saints....I love him, therefore will I
follow him to the land of the living; I will not leave him till by my
prayers and lamentations he shall be admitted unto the holy mount of
the Lord, to which his deserts call him." Ambrose, De obitu
Theodosii, PL 16:1397 (A.D. 395).

"Other husbands scatter on the graves of their wives violets,
roses, lilies, and purple flowers; and assuage the grief of their
hearts by fulfilling this tender duty. Our dear Pammachius also
waters the holy ashes and the revered bones of Paulina, but it is
with the balm of almsgiving." Jerome, To Pammachius, Epistle
66:5 (A.D. 397).

"Weep for the unbelievers; weep for those who differ in
nowise from them, those who depart hence without the illumination,
without the seal! They indeed deserve our wailing, they deserve our
groans; they are outside the Palace, with the culprits, with the
condemned: for, "Verily I say unto you, Except a man be born of
water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven."
Mourn for those who have died in wealth, and did not from their
wealth think of any solace for their soul, who had power to wash away
their sins and would not. Let us all weep for these in private and in
public, but with propriety, with gravity, not so as to make
exhibitions of ourselves; let us weep for these, not one day, or two,
but all our life. Such tears spring not from senseless passion, but
from true affection. The other sort are of senseless passion. For
this cause they are quickly quenched, whereas if they spring from the
fear of God, they always abide with us. Let us weep for these; let us
assist them according to our power; let us think of some assistance
for them, small though it be, yet still let us assist them. How and
in what way? By praying and entreating others to make prayers for
them, by continually giving to the poor on their behalf." John
Chrysostom, Homilies on Phillipians, 3 (ante A.D. 404).

"If the baptized person fulfills the obligations demanded of
a Christian, he does well. If he does not--provided he keeps the
faith, without which he would perish forever--no matter in what sin
or impurity remains, he will be saved, as it were, by fire; as one
who has built on the foundation, which is Christ, not gold, silver,
and precious stones, but wood, hay straw, that is, not just and
chasted works but wicked and unchaste works." Augustine, Faith
and Works, 1:1 (A.D. 413).

"Now on what ground does this person pray that he may not be
'rebuked in indignation, nor chastened in hot displeasure"? He
speaks as if he would say unto God, 'Since the things which I already
suffer are many in number, I pray Thee let them suffice;' and he
begins to enumerate them, by way of satisfying God; offering what he
suffers now, that he may not have to suffer worse evils hereafter."
Augustine, Exposition of the Psalms, 38(37):3 (A.D. 418).

"And it is not impossible that something of the same kind may
take place even after this life. It is a matter that may be inquired
into, and either ascertained or left doubtful, whether some believers
shall pass through a kind of purgatorial fire, and in proportion as
they have loved with more or less devotion the goods that perish, be
less or more quickly delivered from it. This cannot, however, be the
case of any of those of whom it is said, that they 'shall not inherit
the kingdom of God,' unless after suitable repentance their sins be
forgiven them. When I say 'suitable,' I mean that they are not to be
unfruitful in almsgiving; for Holy Scripture lays so much stress on
this virtue, that our Lord tells us beforehand, that He will ascribe
no merit to those on His right hand but that they abound in it, and
no defect to those on His left hand but their want of it, when He
shall say to the former, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom," and to the latter, 'Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire.'" Augustine, Enchiridion, 69 (A.D. 421).

"During the time, moreover, which intervenes between a man's
death and the final resurrection, the soul dwells in a hidden
retreat, where it enjoys rest or suffers affliction just in
proportion to the merit it has earned by the life which it led on
earth." Augustine, Enchiridion, 1099 (A.D. 421).

"For our part, we recognize that even in this life some
punishments are purgatorial,--not, indeed, to those whose life is
none the better, but rather the worse for them, but to those who are
constrained by them to amend their life. All other punishments,
whether temporal or eternal, inflicted as they are on every one by
divine providence, are sent either on account of past sins, or of
sins presently allowed in the life, or to exercise and reveal a man's
graces. They may be inflicted by the instrumentality of bad men and
angels as well as of the good. For even if any one suffers some hurt
through another's wickedness or mistake, the man indeed sins whose
ignorance or injustice does the harm; but God, who by His just though
hidden judgment permits it to be done, sins not. But temporary
punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after
death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last
and strictest judgment. But of those who suffer temporary punishments
after death, all are not doomed to those everlasting pains which are
to follow that judgment; for to some, as we have already said, what
is not remitted in this world is remitted in the next, that is, they
are not punished with the eternal punishment of the world to come."
Augustine, City of God, 21:13 (A.D. 426).

"But since she has this certainty regarding no man, she prays
for all her enemies who yet live in this world; and yet she is not
heard in behalf of all. But she is heard in the case of those only
who, though they oppose the Church, are yet predestinated to become
her sons through her intercession...For some of the dead, indeed, the
prayer of the Church or of pious individuals is heard; but it is for
those who, having been regenerated in Christ, did not spend their
life so wickedly that they can be judged unworthy of such compassion,
nor so well that they can be considered to have no need of it. As
also, after the resurrection, there will be some of the dead to whom,
after they have endured the pains proper to the spirits of the dead,
mercy shall be accorded, and acquittal from the punishment of the
eternal fire. For were there not some whose sins, though not remitted
in this life, shall be remitted in that which is to come, it could
not be truly said, "They shall not be forgiven, neither in this
world, neither in that which is to come.' But when the Judge of quick
and dead has said, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,' and to
those on the other side, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal
fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels,' and 'These
shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life,' it were excessively presumptuous to say that the punishment of
any of those whom God has said shall go away into eternal punishment
shall not be eternal, and so bring either despair or doubt upon the
corresponding promise of life eternal." Augustine, City of God,
2 1:24 (A.D. 426).

"If we neither give thanks to God in tribulations nor redeem
our own sins by good works, we shall have to remain in that
purgatorian fire as long as it takes for those above-mentioned lesser
sins to be consumed like wood and straw and hay." Ceasar of
Arles, Sermon 179 (104):2 (A.D. 542).

"Each one will be presented to the Judge exactly as he was
when he departed this life. Yet, there must be a cleansing fire
before judgment, because of some minor faults that may remain to be
purged away. Does not Christ, the Truth, say that if anyone
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit he shall not be forgiven 'either
in this world or in the world to come'(Mt. 12:32)? From this
statement we learn that some sins can be forgiven in this world and
some in the world to come. For, if forgiveness is refused for a
particular sin, we conclude logically that it is granted for others.
This must apply, as I said, to slight transgressions." Gregory
the Great [regn. A.D. 590-604], Dialogues, 4:39 (A.D. 594).

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"And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42